The Acceptability of War and Support for Defense Spending: Evidence from Fourteen Democracies, 2004-2013

Forthcoming in: Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2015/16

51 Pages Posted: 6 Sep 2014 Last revised: 18 Mar 2015

See all articles by Richard C. Eichenberg

Richard C. Eichenberg

Tufts University

Richard J. Stoll

Rice University - Department of Political Science

Date Written: September 4, 2014

Abstract

We study the factors that influence citizen support for defense spending in fourteen democracies over the period 2004-2013. We pose two research questions: First, what factors influence citizen support for war and military force? We refer to this as the acceptability of war. Second, in addition to the acceptability of war, what other factors affect support for defense spending? Our principal finding is that citizen acceptance of war and support for defense spending are most influenced by basic beliefs and values. Gender also has a strong negative influence on attitudes toward war and thus indirectly lowers support for defense spending among women. Attitudes toward war and defense spending are also sometimes influenced by short-term threats and by alliance considerations, but the effects are not as substantively meaningful. We conclude with a summary of the results and a discussion of the implications for theory and policy.

Keywords: defense spending, NATO, public opinion, attitudes toward war

Suggested Citation

Eichenberg, Richard C. and Stoll, Richard J., The Acceptability of War and Support for Defense Spending: Evidence from Fourteen Democracies, 2004-2013 (September 4, 2014). Forthcoming in: Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2015/16, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2491701 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2491701

Richard C. Eichenberg (Contact Author)

Tufts University ( email )

Medford, MA 02155
United States

Richard J. Stoll

Rice University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Houston, TX 77005-1892
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
74
Abstract Views
534
Rank
576,524
PlumX Metrics